Inflatable cooler with at least one removable printable exterior surface

Abstract

An improved inflatable cooler including one or more sidewalls formed from a flexible plastic membrane having inflatable air chambers formed therein. In addition, the inflatable cooler preferably includes an inflatable lid (formed from a flexible plastic membrane having inflatable air chambers therein) and bottom wall that are integral to one or more of the sidewalls, thereby forming a one-piece construction. Such one-piece construction prevents loss of the lid and bottom wall. The air chambers of the sidewall(s) and lid act as a thermal insulating barrier for the contents of the inflatable cooler (e.g., ice or ice packs or other cooling mechanism along with food and / or drink). In addition, the inflatable cooler includes a flexible plastic membrane that is removably disposed onto the exterior surface of one or more of the sidewalls. The removable plastic membrane, when disposed onto the exterior surface of one or more of the sidewalls, forms an exterior surface of the cooler suitable for printing graphics, text, logos or other information thereon (for example via silk screening or vinyl graphic printing). Such information may be print advertising, promotional advertising or other mass merchandising and marketing information. In addition, the flexible plastic membrane is preferably shaped such that it surrounds the sidewall(s) of the cooler and provides support for stress normal to the sidewall(s). In addition, the surrounding flexible plastic membrane provides added protection to the inflatable cooler (for example, protection for piercing by foreign objects). In another aspect of the present invention, an improved inflatable cooler has a wide base design wherein the base of one or more sidewalls (formed from a flexible plastic membrane having inflatable air chambers formed therein) has a larger dimension than the top opening. Such wide base design provides added stability and improved load-bearing capabilities.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION[0001] 1. Technical Field[0002] The present invention relates to insulating containers for storing food or drink, and more specifically to inflatable coolers.[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art[0004] It is difficult and costly to print graphics, text, logos or other information on the exterior surface of prior art inflatable cooler designs, such as the inflatable cooler shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,352, U.S. Design Patent 333,592, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,785.[0005] In addition, prior art inflatable cooler designs fail to effectively address the effects of stress normal to its walls, which limits the dimensions (including height), volume, load bearing capabilities (i.e., how much ice, beverage and / or food the design can effectively handle without failure), and / or the effective product life cycle of such designs, thus hindering the applicability of such designs in a broad range of applications.[0006] Thus, there is a great need in the art for an...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight collapsible inflatable cooler for food or drink.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooler including at least one inflatable sidewall and a flexible plastic membrane that, when removably disposed onto the exterior surface of the at least one sidewall, provides support for stress normal to the sidewall.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight collapsible inflatable cooler for food or drink of different sizes and shapes.

Problems solved by technology

It is difficult and costly to print graphics, text, logos or other information on the exterior surface of prior art inflatable cooler designs, such as the inflatable cooler shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,352, U.S. Design Patent 333,592, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,785.

In addition, prior art inflatable cooler designs fail to effectively address the effects of stress normal to its walls, which limits the dimensions (including height), volume, load bearing capabilities (i.e., how much ice, beverage and / or food the design can effectively handle without failure), and / or the effective product life cycle of such designs, thus hindering the applicability of such designs in a broad range of applications.

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